


Hello Wench

by Iloveacting12



Series: Soulword Universe [2]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-05-16 20:49:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19325833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iloveacting12/pseuds/Iloveacting12
Summary: Doctor Brienne Tarth always had trepidations about her soulmate. With her soulwords being "Hello wench" she was worried he wouldn't want her. Turns out she was right. When she meets Jaime Lannister at a wedding they agree not to continue the relationship. When Jaime is hospitalized after a car accident and loses his hand, Brienne is his doctor. With Brienne's help Jaime learns how to heal and look past the exterior to see what's inside a person.





	1. The Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Right now this is the second story in my Soulwords series. You don't have to read M'lady (about Arya and Gendry), but I do recommend it. It's short so it won't take too much time. Similar to M'lady I don't plan on this being a long fic. I kind of just want this to be a fast paced love story between two of my favorite characters. D&D did them dirty and I just want them alive and happy together.

Brienne’s happy she came to the wedding. She doesn’t usually take time off from the hospital, always worried someone will need her even though they have plenty of staff. She likes seeing people happy and in love, and has actually at the opportunity to get to know Catelyn Stark better. The only times she’s seen the woman are at the hospital when Arya’s in for some injury, and she likes her a lot. Now she’s sitting at her table, sipping a glass of wine. Podrick, her “date” is off flirting with a couple women his age, which causes Brienne to smile. She knows Pod’s reputation at the hospital for that sort of thing, and hopes he has fun tonight. Her gaze turns to Arya and Gendry on the dancefloor. Their heads are close and they’re whispering to each other. She wonders how long it’ll take for Gendry to tell her he’s actually her soulmate. When he told her he said that so they’d let him into the room with her, Brienne knew he was lying. She’d seen him come in. He was frantic, holding an unconscious Arya shouting about needing a doctor. Brienne had been worried, thinking that she had just been on another one of her adventures, but when she learned of the attackers she had wanted to find them and kill them, law be damned. The way they look at each other now shows Brienne just how in love they are with each other.  


Brienne is interrupted from her thoughts when someone plops down in the chair next to her. She turns and sees Jaime Lannister sitting next to her. He smiles brightly at her. “Hello Wench.” Brienne freezes. Oh no. Those words are tattooed on her hip, and have been there since she was born. She wants to groan. Her whole life she had been excited at the prospect of someone loving her. She knows she isn’t attractive, and most men hate the thought of her making more money than them. She had been holding out hope that the man would be her equal and perfect for her in every way.  


Looking at Jaime Lannister, she knows that will never happen. “Oh gods it’s you.” He pauses and stares back at her in shock.  


They both look at each other for a beat before Jaime breaks the silence. “Um okay, so this is unexpected.” Brienne feels the splotchy blush cover her face. She knows she’s no beauty, and Jaime fucking Lannister is used to beautiful women. He stares at her waiting for an answer. 

She clears her throat. “Yes, very unexpected. My name’s Brienne Tarth. I’m a doctor at King’s Landing Medical.” She holds out her hand for him to shake.  


He smirks but takes the hand. “Jaime Lannister. I’m the Editor-in-Chief for The Lion’s Den.” The Lion’s Den is the most prestigious newspaper in Westeros. It was started by the Casterley family, but they couldn’t handle it and sold it to the Lannisters, who turned it into the thriving business it is today.  


Brienne nods. “I know.” When Jaime raises an eyebrow she explains. “Sansa Stark, the cousin of the groom is a friend of mine. She works there.”  


He nods and leans back in his chair. “I know Stark. She’s a great writer and knows how to come up with a story. A few months ago she came to me with the idea to follow the Brotherhood Without Bounty, the bounty hunting group on a case. She followed Sandor Clegane for a month and got some really great info and gave us a phenomenal article. Now, whenever she has an idea we run with it.” Brienne smirks, knowing the whole reason why Sansa wanted to do that article was so she could get closer to Sandor, her soulmate, and convince him to accept their bond.  


Jaime gives her a strange look. “You know, you’re not bad looking when you smile.” He seems to realize what he said after the words leave his mouth and he winces.  


Brienne sits taller in her seat and levels a glare on him. “I don’t really care what people think about me.” Usually that’s the truth. She has been used to insults on her beauty her whole life, but coming from her soulmate did send a twinge of pain through her heart. “Anyways, we should probably talk about this.” She forms a wall around her heart, knowing exactly how this conversation is going to go.  


Jaime sighs but nods his head. “Yes probably. Listen Wench.”  


Brienne cuts in. “Brienne.”  


Jaime smirks at her. “Gazoontite. Anyways, Wench, I don’t really want a relationship. I’m pretty happy with where I’m at right now and I think a girlfriend will put a damper on that. Can we take a raincheck until I’m ready?” He gives her a pleading look that does nothing for Brienne.  


She gives him an unimpressed look. “No. Look Jaime, I’m not really that into you either, even if you are my soulmate. I also am doing great in my life. I’m the best doctor at KL Medical and I think a soulmate would drag that down too. Let’s just forget this conversation happened.” He looks so relieved that Brienne accidentally lets a little of the hurt she’s concealing slip through her facade. He obviously sees it as he opens his mouth to say something.  


Mayor Cersei comes up before he can say anything. “Jaime come dance with me.” She gives Brienne an assessing look, after dismissing her for someone unworthy of her attention, she grabs Jaime’s hand and pulls him away. Brienne leans back against the chair and lets out a long sigh. She looks at her phone and sees it’s late enough for her to say her goodbyes and leave. She says goodbyes to Cat, Sansa, and Arya; all of whom give her long and tight hugs.  


She walks up to Podrick who’s still chatting with the girls. She clears her throat and his head jerks up. “Oh, Brienne, hey. Listen I’m gonna stay with these lovely ladies. I’ll catch you tomorrow at the brunch okay?” He looks a little sheepish but Brienne leaves him alone.  


She leans over and ruffles his hair which gets the girls giggling. “No problem Pod. Have a good night.” He goes red but smiles at her and she walks away.  
She gets to her little hotel in Wintertown and sits on the bed. It doesn’t take her but a minute to begin to cry. She does not allow herself to dissolve into sobs, but the tears come fast and ferociously. After a brief pity party she pulls herself together. I will not let this affect me. She had always been worried her soulmate wouldn’t want her, and built up her emotional barriers, thinking it would keep her from being hurt. Now that it's happened she is proud to know it didn’t break her, but it still fucking hurts. She goes to the bathroom and splashes some cold water on her face and gets ready for bed. Once she’s curled under the covers she realizes that the wedding, drinking, and emotional turmoil really exhausted her, and she has no trouble falling asleep.


	2. The Hospital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a horrible wreck, Brienne has to amputate Jaime's hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I know nothing about hospitals, surgeries, recovery, etc. This is all made up so I apologize if everything's wrong.

The drive back to King’s Landing is uneventful. Podrick chatters about other nurses and doctors in the hospital, giving her the gossip she never feels like she is privy to. They stop twice for gas and food. When they get to King’s Landing, Brienne drives them right to the hospital so they can start their shift. Brienne shrugs on the unflattering yet surprisingly very comfortable light blue scrubs with her doctor coat on top. Podrick and her are on the late shift so she grabs them two cups of coffee, overly sweat for Pod, and black with three sugars for her. She meets him at the front desk where Pia, the front desk attendant is sitting. “The two of you are on call for the entire first five floors of the hospital.” They thank her and head to the breakroom. King’s Landing Medical is a ten story hospital with the lower five floors catering to illnesses, emergencies, and common check ups. The higher five floors are for the longer issues, like cancer, dementia, and comas. They sit on the couch facing the small tv and put on Jeopardy, the only thing running this late. This is their routine on late nights. They turn on Jeopardy and keep score each episode, Brienne almost always wins.  


They are interrupted from their competition by Hyle Hunt entering the room. Hyle is another doctor who has worked at KL for six months. He’s tall, not as tall as Brienne, but taller than many men who works at the hospital. He has short brown hair, almost a military cut, and a long scar running from right below his left ear to his chin. Pod had told her on the drive that there’s a running bet on how he got the scar, but no one really knows. Every time he’s asked he makes up some absurd story like how he fought off a bear to save a woman. He joins them at the couch. “Hello Brienne, Podrick. Where were you these past two days?” He raises his eyebrows suggestively, and Brienne snorts.  


Hyle begins to laugh with her and Brienne shakes her head. “We were both invited to a friend’s wedding in Winterfell, so we went together.”  


Hyle whistles. “Man Brienne, I didn’t realize you were friends with the rich folks.”  


Brienne rolls her eyes. “One, we’re doctors, we’re part of the rich folk; two, Arya Stark is a recurring patient of ours and we’ve grown close with her, her sister, their mother, and their cousin. The last time Arya and Sansa were here they invited us.” He hmmd but isn’t really listening. Brienne and Pod share a subtle eye roll and go back to watching Jeopardy.  


Hyle clears his throat. “Listen, I was wondering if maybe you want to get dinner sometime?” He rubs the back of his neck and gives her a shy smile.  


Brienne is frozen. She doesn’t know what to say. After Jaime rejected her she resigned herself to loneliness, but now this attractive man wants to take her on a date. “What about your soulmate?”  


Hyle looks uncomfortable. “Well I haven’t met her yet, but I was thinking I like you so why not try it out together? How about you?”  


Brienne definitely does not want to open up to Hyle about Jaime. She sees Pod giving her a pitying glance. She had told him what happened on the drive from Winterfell. She clears her throat. “Um, he’s not in the picture. Yes, I’d like to go on a date with you.”  


He perks up but before they can set a date her name is called on the intercom. “Doctor Brienne to emergency room. Code Blue.” Brienna and Pod glance at each other before they’re out the door. Code blue is when someone is severely injured when brought into the hospital and needs immediate and direct attention. This could be the patient is dying, seriously injured, or in need of an instant operation. They arrive in the emergency room and Brienne freezes when she enters the scene. Jaime Lannister is bloody and lying on a bed. His normally golden hair is dyed red from blood coming from a head wound, and he’s unconscious. That’s not what makes her freeze. His right hand, the one closest to her is mangled beyond recognition. Pieces are torn off and he’s missing multiple fingers, the wound goes to just above his wrist joint, and already Brienne knows they will have to amputate it.  


She turns to Pod and the other nurses. “Listen up, we need to first treat the head wound and the right hand. I think the hand needs to come off, but if someone thinks it can be salvaged tell me now.” They all shake their heads so she puts her head cap on, washes her hands, and Pod puts on her gloves. “He’s losing a lot of blood from the hand wound so I’m going to work on that while Nurse Podrick and his team work on his head wound. Let’s go.” She turns and gets to work on his hand.  


Hours later, more than Brienne wants to think about the surgery is finished. All of the nurses are leaving. They’re all exhausted. It’s almost the end of her shift, but she’s been asked to stay to speak to Jaime when he wakes up. Podrick offers to stay with her, but she waves him off, knowing he had a long night and day even before their shift started. She can tell he’s grateful as he walks out of the hospital to his car. She sighs and sinks into the couch. She grabs her current read, a fantasy retelling of Queen Nymeria. Arya Stark had turned her onto the book the second to last time she’d been in the hospital. Telling her all about it and how she needs to read it. Brienne has to hand it to the young girl, it’s quite good. It’s filled with action, adventure, a badass queen, and a great romance. Brienne’s usually into nonfiction, but the writing is good and based on a real character, so it easily keeps her interest.  


Two hours later Brienne goes to check on Jaime, knowing he should be coming out of his induced sleep soon. When she enters she sees his eyes slightly opening and she readies herself to break the news of his hand to him. She had called his emergency contact, his brother Tyrion to explain the accident before coming into the room. 

He’s on his way, living forty-five minutes out of town. Jaime groans and shifts in the bed before freezing when the wires inhibit his movements. His eyes open fully and he looks around the room before settling on her. His eyebrows scrunch in confusion. “Wench? What are you doing here?” Brienne walks closer and he takes in her medical garb. “What am I doing here?”  


She sighs and sits down in the chair next to his. “Mr. Lannister, you were in a car crash in Flea Bottom. You were brought in hours ago, we had to do an emergency operation.” She pauses to let that sink in. His confused look doesn’t lessen. “You had a serious head wound that needed stitching, so you lost a lot of blood. The worst wound though was on your right hand.” Before she can fully break the news he looks down and sees the wrapped stump where his hand used to be.  


His heart rate jumps and the monitor lets out warning beeps. He shakes his head, and his entire frame starts to shiver. “No. No. No. This is not happening. Is this some sort of prank to get back at me for the wedding?” Brienne stares at him in astonishment. She would never do that.  


He sees her expression and shrinks. “No Mr. Lannister. I would not do that. I’m a doctor and I was on call for emergencies last night. When they brought you in I had to operate on you.” She swallows thickly as she watches Jaime take in what she’s saying. “Jaime listen to me. Your hand was destroyed. When they brought you in I could barely recognize it as one. If it wasn’t attached to your arm I wouldn’t think it was a hand. I had four nurses and two doctors agree that it had to be amputated. I’m so sorry this has happened.” Jaime doesn’t respond for a moment. He just stares at the wound.  


Finally he opens his mouth. “Where’s my family?”  


Brienne mentally lets out a breath, relieved to change the subject. “Your brother was your emergency contact. He’s on his way. He said he’d call your father and sister.”  


Jaime sighs. “Yeah, we’ll see if they show up.” Brienne starts and he’s quick to respond. “My brother will come. He loves me, unlike the others. But I doubt my father will come, and Cersei will only come if she has the time. When did you call Tyrion?”  


Brienne hesitates. “Um, right before coming in. I didn’t have time before the operation and it took us a while to find your emergency contact. You’ve never been to the hospital, but Tyrion came in when he got the scar on his face, and you were his emergency contact.”  


Jaime hums. “So Tyrion won’t be here for about a half hour, my sister could get here in ten minutes, we’ll see if she shows up before tomorrow.”  


In the end Jaime’s right. No one comes to see him until three people show up an hour after she called Tyrion. The smaller man walks in first, followed by a gorgeous, tall woman with thick black curls, and then a tall man brings up the rear. Jaime puts a smile on his face, but everyone can tell it’s fake. “Shae you didn’t have to come.”  


The woman rolls her eyes and gives him a brief hug. “Doctor Brienne called in the middle of breakfast, Tyrion was so shaken up I had to drive.” Tyrion gives Jaime a small, sad smile and walks to him to envelop him in a tight hug.  


When they pull apart both are hastily wiping their eyes. “Thanks for coming on such short notice Tyrion. Shae, thank you for driving him.” Jaime turns to the third person in the room. “I appreciate you coming too Bronn.”  


Bronn shrugs, but also grips Jaime in a large hug. “I knew your bitch of a sister and fucker of a father wouldn’t come, and you should have more people here to make sure you’re okay. Besides, I heard there would be a hot receptionist. I was sorely disappointed.” Brienne looks to see Jaime’s reaction and while he smirks and rolls his eyes, obviously used to his friend’s antics, she thinks she sees a brief flash of hurt over his friend not seeming to care.  


Brienne decides to intervene. “Yeah, Pia works the afternoon shift. If you come back, or stay, you’ll see her later. Anyways, Jaime is doing okay. We had to amputate his hand because of the crash, and he’ll have a scar on his forehead due to a cut we had to stitch, but other than those injuries and monitoring for a concussion, he’ll be okay. He should be released by the end of the week.” They all look surprised by the amount of time so she explains. “We have to make sure his arm heals properly. We will also start you on a physical therapy regime and make sure everything is going smoothly before we let you leave. The only thing we need from you is to choose your physical therapist. We have some good candidates here, but I would also suggest Meera Reed, she’s the soulmate of one of Jon Snow’s cousins. She’s renowned for her work with amputees and people suffering from paralysis. I’ll give you her contact information.” She says this last part to Tyrion. The conversation ends and she decides to leave the family alone. She leaves the room and pulls her phone out.  


Sansa picks up after three rings. “Doctor Brienne? What’s wrong? Is it Arya?”  


Brienne can hear the panic start to come into her voice so she quickly shuts it down. “No this isn’t about Arya. Actually, it’s about your boss. Jaime got in a horrific accident and lost his right hand. I was hoping maybe some of you could come? Only Tyrion and his friend Bronn are here and he should have some more people. He’s friendly with Sandor right?”  


Sansa snorts. “More like frienemies, but I’m sure Sandor will be fine coming. Which hand did he lose?”  


Brienne wonders why that matters. “Um, his right. Why?”  


Sansa doesn’t hesitate. “I’ll also call Arya. She’s left handed but also ambidextrous, maybe she can give him some pointers. We’ll be over in half an hour.” Brienne feels a lot better after Sansa hangs up. Arya could be good. She thinks they’d get along well, they have similar, snarky attitudes. She also works at a dojo, so maybe she has some tips on getting his left arm strengthened. Brienne leaves the hallway to get coffee.  


Exactly thirty minutes later Sansa, Arya, Sandor, Jon, Ygritte, and the other Night’s Watch owners are in the waiting room. Brienne freezes in surprise. Jon notices her confusion. “Bronn sold his bar which used to be their regular hang out and it became a dump. They started coming to The Night’s Watch and we’ve become buddies. We thought we’d come.” Brienne thanks all of them and lead them to Jaime’s room.  


She knocks and enters, to see them all sitting and watching a movie on the tv. “Hey Jaime, I hope you don’t mind but some friends are here to see you.” Jaime looks over in confusion, but his face brightens when everyone fights their way in. They all rush over to hug him and give him friendly slaps on the back while also making sure he’s okay. Brienne knows she did the right thing with how happy Jaime looks.  


Arya pushes her way through and starts feeling his left arm. “Well you’ve got more muscle than most have in their non dominant arm. That’ll make the transition easier. The dojo I work at has a program on teaching people to fight with their non dominant hand. I’ll put you on the schedule starting next week. We also called Bran on our way and he’s bringing Meera down to check you out.” Arya freezes when Jaime pulls her into a quick hug.  


When he pulls back there’s a light film over his eyes which makes Arya slightly uncomfortable. “Thanks kid. I’ll be needing all the help I can get.” Arya smiles, awkwardly pats him on the shoulder, and then moves away. Tyrion meets Brienne’s eyes and mouths ‘thank you’. She shrugs as if it’s no big deal. Honestly it isn’t. Jaime may have rejected her, but no one deserves to have next to no one come to the hospital for them.  


Brienne sees Jaime’s energy waning and decides it’s time for everyone to leave. “Okay everyone, time to go. Jaime needs sleep. You can come back later.” Everyone exits and Brienne begins to follow.  


She’s stopped by a hand on her wrist. She turns back in surprise. “Thanks Wench.” Brienne rolls her eyes but she reaches up and squeezes his hand before walking out of the room.  


On her way out she calls over her shoulder. “Seriously you need to sleep. My shift ended three hours ago so I’m going home. I’ll be back this afternoon, but the nurses are here if you need them. She closes the door on the picture of him falling asleep.


	3. The Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brienne and Jaime grow closer, Jaime meets Meera, and Brienne and Hyle go on their date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it's been a while. I forgot my computer charger somewhere and it took me days to get it so my computer died, and then I've just been too busy. I'm still not sure just how many chapters are left, but I'm thinking three or four.

The next day Meera arrives. Meera, Bran Stark’s soulmate is a tall, thin, very pale woman with a smattering of freckles over her face and thick, black curls that fall to her shoulders. Bran had met Meera after being in his climbing accident which left him paralyzed from the waist down, and they immediately fell in love. Meera and her brother Jojen became very close to Bran, and they all live in Greywater Watch, up north near Winterfell. She is also one of the most acclaimed physical therapists in Westeros. Brienne leads her to Jaime’s room. Where Podrick sits with him helping him cut his omelet. Jaime looks miserable. Brienne knows it’s because he doesn’t want someone having to cut his food for him, but he had tried, and failed to do it, so Brienne had sent Pod to help him while she met Meera. Meera stands back and watches how Jaime uses his left hand while eating his breakfast. Once he’s comfortably doing so, she steps forward.  


She extends her right hand. “Mr. Lannister, I’m Meera Reed your physical therapist. It’s nice to meet you.” Jaime looks at her right hand and holds his left hand up to show he can’t shake her right hand. Meera reaches out and grabs onto it. It’s a little awkward with the angle, but overall it’s okay. “You have to get used to people holding out their right hands, and you shaking with your left. It’s their automatic reaction to meeting someone unless they also use their left hands. The angle is weird, but once they notice you have no right hand they’ll understand.” She lets go of his hand and sits down in the chair next to his bed.  


Jaime shifts so he’s looking at her. “I don’t want people to notice my handicap. I want them to treat me like any other person.”  


Meera nods in understanding. “Of course you do, but it can’t happen. Something will always tip them off, and it’s better to learn how to avoid the awkward parts and just make it part of who you are. No one else will forget it, so don’t you forget it either. Embrace it and let it be part of you. I met your brother Tyrion at Jon Snow’s wedding. You don’t think he’d rather people forget he’s a dwarf? I’m sure he wishes he could be as tall as you, but he knows who he is and has accepted it. He doesn’t let how people react to him affect him. Yes he does this by making his own derogatory jokes about himself, but it’s his way of showing the world that they can’t hurt him. If that’s how you have to do it to accept your loss of your right hand, then do it. If you find a different way then do that. Do whatever you need to do to accept yourself, and show the world that they can’t hurt you.” Brienne looks at Jaime and is surprised to see him looking at Meera in awe.  


Brienne smiles. “Jaime, I’ll leave you in the capable hands of Meera. We’ve agreed that today will be a test day, where she’s just going to see what you can and can’t do. It’ll be a couple hours, then I’ll be back.”  
She moves to leave but is stopped by Jaime’s voice. “Thanks Wench.” She doesn’t respond to that. Just shakes her head and leaves to the sound of his chuckling.  


She goes around checking on her other patients, and when no one needs anything she goes to the break room. She freezes when she gets inside because Hyle is sitting on the couch. He brightens when he sees her. “Brienne, we never got to finish our conversation yesterday.”  


Brienne swallows nervously, but smiles back. “Yes sorry about that. A patient came in and I needed to amputate his hand. I’ve been dealing with that.”  


Hyle nods. “Yes I heard Jaime Lannister got his hand chopped off. Maybe it’ll knock him down a peg or two.”  


Brienne is shocked by what he said. “You shouldn’t say that. The man lost a hand. He’ll have to deal with that the rest of his life.” Hyle looks mildly embarrassed but waves it off.  


He shifts on the couch. “Anyways. When do you next have a night off? I could take you to dinner.” There’s a part of Brienne that wants to refuse for two reasons. The first being that she doesn’t like how he spoke about a patient who lost his hand, and now that she’s taking care of Jaime she feels like she’d almost be cheating on him with the doctor.  


She shakes those thoughts out of her head. Jaime wanted to be with other girls, she shouldn’t feel bad about being with another guy. “I’m off tonight. Do you want to go to The Night’s Watch for dinner?”  
Hyle smiles widely at her. “That’d be great. Do you want to go from here?”  
Brienne quickly shakes her head. “No, I always need a shower after a shift, and this has been a long one. I get off at five. Let’s meet there at seven?”  
He nods. “Sounds good. I’ll see you there.” He checks his watch. “I better go check on my patients. I’ll see you later.” Brienne nods and he leaves. 

Two hours later Meera finds Brienne. “He’s lucky he’s strong in his left arm. It’ll make the transition a lot easier. I’m going to meet with him everyday for a month, and then we’ll see how many days a week he should be getting therapy, and I’ll find someone local to take over.”  


Brienne smiles at her. “Thank you so much for coming at such short notice. Arya said the same thing about his arm.” Meera gives her a questioning look so she explains. “She was here yesterday and told him to come to her dojo during the class she teaches where people learn how to fight with their nondominant hands.”  


Meera smiles. “That’s a great idea. Arya’s a great teacher, I think Jaime and she’ll get along.”  


Brienne nods and continues. “Are you okay with staying in King’s Landing? Do you have a place to stay?”  


Meera nods. “Tyrion is paying for Bran and I to stay at a nice hotel just down the street. Even if he didn’t. Jon has enough room in his house for Bran and I to stay, especially with him going on his month long honeymoon in two days. Anyways, I’m going to head out. Bran and I are going to go to the Essos museum. We’ve both been dying to go ever since Arya showed us all the photos she took of the ancient weapons. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Brienne waves as Meera leaves. Then she turns and goes to Jaime’s room.  


Jaime’s sitting on the bed watching a film with a small smile on his face. He turns and the smile grows when he sees Brienne. “Ah Wench, welcome back.” Brienne rolls her eyes and is about to respond but he continues. “I didn’t get to thank you for inviting the Starks yesterday. While it was embarrassing for one of my employees to see me in this state, I am friends with Sandor and Jon, so it was nice of them to come. It was kind of you to ask them to come. I’m sure me talking about my sister and father got you all sad, and usually I wouldn’t want you to think I care, but it was nice to see that not everyone thinks I’m an utter asshole.” Brienne goes to contradict him but he waves her away. “Don’t try to deny what you think of me. I rejected you. I doubt you’d feel anything but contempt.” Brienne does not say anything because she’s thinking about how he should be right. She should hate him, and if the accident hadn’t happened she probably would, but seeing him like this. Meek, weak, and a little dirty having not been able to shower since the accident, has her pitying him more than anything.  


She sighs and sits next to him. “Honestly Jaime I don’t hate you. I’m not sure if I ever could, you know with the bond and everything. I wasn’t even that surprised.” 

Jaime scoffs, but she holds her hand up to keep him from talking. “Look at me. I’ve never had a guy want me like that. Some have wanted me for my father’s money, he’s the mayor of Tarth and comes from a very wealthy family, but no one has desired me. I had always expected my soulmate to be the same. So honestly, I was neither disappointed nor surprised when you didn’t want to be with me. Truly there’s no hard feelings.” Jaime looks pained and then a little crestfallen.  


He sighs and leans his head against the pillow. “Brienne I truly am sorry. I don’t care if you expected it to happen, it shouldn’t have. I wish I could be the man to love you like I’m sure you deserve. I just don’t know how to love. I’ve never had someone love me like that. My father thinks of me as a pawn to use and move around as he sees fit, and Cersei sees me as the golden brother to promote her image; Tyrion is the only one to love me like family should, but I really think that’s because I was the only one who was nice to him growing up. I’ve never experienced that emotion so I’ve never known how to act with my soulmate. I’m just sorry you had to be a part of it.” Brienne looks at her watch and knows it’s time for her to leave.  


She smiles at him. “You know I think that’s the first time you’ve used my real name.” Jaime looks stricken and then guilty. She stands up and pats his knee. “Honestly Jaime, it’s okay. I hope after all of this is over we can try to be friends, but I don’t expect more, and I’m fine if you want less. I have to go check on my other patients, but I’ll be back at the end of my shift.” Jaime lifts his stump in a “wave” and she leaves the room. 

The hours fly by and soon enough she’s at the end of her shift. She opens Jaime’s door and sees him talking to Bronn. He smiles at her and waves for Bronn to leave. When the door shuts he begins speaking. “So Wench, got any fun plans tonight? Or because it’s a Monday night are you just gonna stay home like a bore?” Brienne knows he’s just deflecting from the emotional conversation earlier, so Brienne lets the jibe slide.  


She rolls her eyes but smiles. “Actually I’m going on a date.” Jaime freezes and looks at her.  


He clears his throat. “With who?”  


She shrugs. “Another doctor here. You don’t know him. We’re going to The Night’s Watch.” He gives her an incredulous look. “What?”  


He groans and leans back. “That’s nowhere to go on a first date. He should take you to a real dinner, not a bar.”  


Brienne shrugs. “I was the one to name the place.”  


He laughs. “Of course you were, but he should’ve changed the location. It’s a good place after the first date, when you’re comfortable enough around each other to be okay with just sitting together because it’s so loud you can’t talk. It’ll be awkward.”  


Brienne waves away his concern. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. Thank you for your worries but I’ve never experienced the bar being loud so I doubt it’ll be a problem. Have a good night.” As she walks out the door she pauses and turns around. “And take a shower. You stink.” He looks shocked and then throws his head back and laughs. Brienne smiles as she leaves the hospital.  


Two hours later Brienne has a table in the corner nabbed with two menus. She’s wearing a black midi dress with spaghetti straps that falls to her shins. It’s fun but still classy. She paired the dress with black flats, and lightly curled her hair so it falls to her shoulders in waves. She silently thanks her friend Margery’s hair expertise when they were younger, and she wanted to experiment with all different hairstyles and made Brienne learn all of them too. It’s five past seven when Hyle enters and finds her. 

He sits across from her at the table and picks up the menu. “I’m off tomorrow so I hope you don’t mind me getting some wine.” Brienne shakes her head and Sam, one of the owners comes over.  


She smiles at the plump but kind man. “Brienne, hello. Who’s this?”  


Brienne turns to Hyle. “Hyle this is Sam Tarley, one of the owners of the bar, and the son of Randall the owner of the hospital. Sam this is Doctor Hyle Hunt, we work together.”  


Hyle smiles at Sam and shakes his hand. “Hi, I’ll have a glass of the Cab please.”  


Sam nods and turns to Brienne. “Work usual or casual usual?”  


Brienne chuckles. “Work usual please.” Sam turns and walks away. At Hyle’s questioning glance she explains. “Jon Snow, one of the owners, is the brother of a friend of mine, we come here quite a bit and I almost always order the same two drinks, one for when I’m working the next day, and one when I’m not.” They are interrupted by Sam placing their drinks on the table.  


He turns to Brienne with a notepad, but Hyle begins speaking first. “I’ll have the chicken parmesan.” Sam writes it down and turns back to Brienne.  
She opens the menu, closes her eyes, and points to a dish. “I’ll have the New York Strip please Sam.” He writes her order down and leaves. She turns to Hyle. “I’ve now had every item on the menu, so to decide I close my eyes and choose at random.” He looks at her weirdly but doesn’t respond.  


They take a moment to sip their wine and cranberry juice before Hyle begins speaking. “I had the craziest patient today.”  


For the next hour and a half they have a nice and polite conversation, but Brienne notices there’s no spark. They talk about patients, their pasts, and their current home lives, and it’s interesting, but she doesn’t feel anything resembling desire. At the end of the meal Hyle is a gentleman and pays, and Brienne is expecting to go their separate ways when he grabs her elbow outside. “I had a really good time tonight.”  


Brienne feels awkward so lies. “Yeah so did I. I feel like I learned a lot about you.”  


Hyle smiles. “I totally agree. Let’s do this again. When are you next off?” He leans into her and runs his hand down her arm. Brienne is surprised that he’s being so forward, and thinks maybe she was wrong about her feelings, and should give him another date.  


She thinks over her schedule. “I’m free again on Wednesday for lunch.”  


Hyle nods. “Okay, next time I’ll choose the place. See you on Wednesday.” He leans down and pecks her cheek before walking away.  


Brienne drives to her apartment, and can’t stop thinking about the date. She just didn’t feel anything. She decides to go to the next date, and if there still isn’t a spark she’ll tell him so.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  


At the hospital Jaime finishes taking his first shower. It feels wonderful. He scrubs the towel over his rapidly growing hair and decides that as soon as he’s out of the hospital he’ll get a haircut. When he’s dressed he decides to take a small stroll around the hospital floor. He makes it to the waiting room and sees a beautiful girl sitting at the desk. He guesses this is Pia. He walks over to her and sees her name tag which proves his guess was right. “Hi Nurse Pia.” Pia looks up and gives him a once over.  


She must like what she sees because she smiles flirtatiously and spins a lock of hair around her finger. “Hi, you’re Jaime Lannister right.”  


Jaime feels himself slip into flirting mode. He leans his left elbow onto the desk and rests his head in his hand and smiles at her. “You’re correct. Now tell me, how did a pretty girl like you get stuck on working the night shift.”  


Pia giggles and shrugs. “The nurse who usually works now, Redd is at The Night’s Watch.”  


Jaime freezes thinking about Brienne. “Why did he need you to cover him to go there?”  


She sighs and he can tell she doesn’t care about the conversation. “He and Hyle Hunt made a bet on if Hyle could get in Doctor Brienne’s pants, so he’s watching for evidence. Hyle has until the end of the month to get with her or the bet’s off.” Jaime gets dangerously still. He’s so fucking pissed.  


He leans in and his voice turns into a snarl. “Are you serious?”  


Pia’s eyes widen comically. “Um, yes. Most people don’t know, but Redd told me because I’m covering his shift.”  


Jaime’s lip curls. “And you didn’t think to tell Doctor Brienne?”  


Her nose wrinkles. “Like I care what happens to that oaf. She’s so fucking perfect I honestly want her to get knocked off that high horse of hers.”  


Jaime has never snarled in his life, but he thinks he got pretty damn close. “Don’t talk about Doctor Brienne that way. She’s a great doctor who cares about her patients even when they’re asses who don’t deserve it. Tomorrow I’m telling her, and you’re backing me up.”  


Pia frowns but doesn’t say anything, sensing the edge Jaime’s on. “Ugh fine. Whatever.” Jaime doesn’t say anything and turns to go back to his room, but knows he won’t sleep for a long while, worried that Hyle might have already won the bet.


	4. The Bet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaime informs Brienne of the bet.

The next morning Brienne is convinced she downplayed the chemistry between Hyle and her. Looking back over the events she believes she was just cautious as no one had ever expressed romantic notions towards her and she was hesitant in case she misconstrued the events. She arrives to work in a glowing mood. She opens up to Jaime’s floor and sees Pia at the front desk. She smiles and waves, and Pia gives her a nervous smile back before going back to her work. On her way to Jaime’s room, she’s intercepted by Hyle. Brienne gives him a large smile. “Hello Hyle.”  


Hyle smiles back at her. “Hi Brienne. How was the rest of your night?”  


Brienne shrugs. “It was fine. After our date I really just went to bed.”  


Hyle chuckles. “So did I. I was wiped after the two long shifts. You must have been exhausted having worked late the shift before.”  


Brienne nods and hums in agreement. “I’ve got to see my patients, but I’ll see you later.” Hyle smiles and she walks away. She enters Jaime’s room and is surprised to see him coming out of the bathroom, freshly showered. “Oh gods Jaime I hope you didn’t take my comment last night seriously.”  


Jaime waves his hand. “You were right. It felt great to wash off all the grime and dirt on my body after the wreck.” When Jaime mentions his body Brienne’s thoughts drift to him naked in the shower and she can feel a blush rise to her cheeks.  


Jaime notices as well and raises an eyebrow. “Well, well, well, Wench I had no idea you thought of me that way.” Brienne rolls her eyes and lightly shoves him.  


He pretends to fall onto the bed. “Wench you hurt me. I’m still a weak patient who needs tender love and care.” Brienne sighs and checks his vitals. He continues to speak. “You know I had an interesting conversation with Pia last night.” Brienne hums so he continues. “She told me some interesting facts about your date with Hyle.” Brienne freezes while checking his chart.  


She puts it down on the side table and looks at him. “What do you mean? What did she talk about?”  


Jaime clears his throat and sits on the bed without looking at her. “She told me Hyle has a bet going with Redd that he can get in your bed and pants within the month.” He quickly glances at Brienne to gauge her reaction.  


Brienne doesn’t know how to respond. She just sits there and stares at him for a moment before breaking the silence. “You expect me to believe that?”  


Jaime’s look turns to confusion. “What do you mean? Why wouldn’t you believe it?”  


Brienne rolls her eyes. “Hmm, maybe because even though we agreed not to be together I’m still your soulmate and maybe your subconscious doesn’t want me with other people. Maybe you’re worried I’ll expect more from you because someone else is showing interest.”  


Jaime shakes his head and reaches over to grab her hand but she yanks it back. “No, Brienne, listen to me. Pia told me about it and she had no reason to lie. Please, I’m just trying to look out for you. I’m not jealous. I was happy for you when you told me you had a date.” Brienne stands from the chair and goes to leave the room. “Please, ask him and Redd, just don’t have sex with him. If they both deny it then I’m a dick, but I doubt Redd’ll deny it because he wants Hyle to fail. Please just ask him.”  


Brienne sighs. “Fine, I’ll ask them, as well as Pia. I have to go check on my other patients.” She turns and leaves the room, and stops at Pia’s desk. “Hi Pia.”  


Pia gives her a bright smile. “Hi Doctor Brienne.”  


Brienne clears her throat. “Listen, Jaime told me something interesting earlier. I just want you to clarify. Did Hyle ask me out because of a bet?”  


Her eyebrows wrinkle in confusion. “Um, no. He was telling me he was really excited for the date and was raving about it this morning. I don’t know what Jaime was talking about.”  


Brienne feels rage sweep through her at the thought of Jaime lying to her to get her to stop being with someone other than him. “Huh, I’m not sure why he’d lie about that.”  


Pia shrugs and purses her lips into a cute little pout. “I don’t know. Maybe he likes you.” She giggles and wiggles her eyebrows.  


Brienne snorts. “Believe me, that’s not it. I’ll see you later Pia.” Pia smiles and waves and Brienne leaves. 

By the end of her shift Brienne can barely hold her fury in. She slams the door of Jaime’s room shut and he jumps awake. He looks to her and breaks out into a large smile. “Wench, hi. Did you talk to anyone?”  


Brienne frowns and crosses her arms. “Yes I spoke to Pia.”  


He beams. “I’m sure she cleared things up.”  


Brienne nods her head. “Yes. She told me how Hyle had a great time and is excited about our next date. She had no inkling as to where you got the idea that it was for a bet. What the fuck are you playing at Jaime?”  


His smile disappears and his mouth turns into a snarl. “That bitch. She’s lying Brienne. I think she likes Redd so she’ll say anything for him.”  


Brienne rolls her eyes. “That’s enough Jaime! Why are you doing this? Why are you making my life this miserable? Do you really resent me this much?”  


Jaime shakes his head and stands up to grab her hand. “Please Wench listen to me. They’re playing you. I’m so sorry this is happening and I’m sorry I’ve ruined your trust in me, but please believe me in this. I just want you to be happy, and he won’t be able to make that happen.”  


Brienne shakes her head and pulls her arm from his grasp. “I’ll talk to Hyle and Redd about this, but we’re done for the time being. Nurse Podrick will take care of you from now on.”  


Jaime helplessly watches as Brienne leaves the room. 

Two days pass, and Brienne’s more confident than ever that Jaime was lying. Hyle’s been attentive, showing up outside her patients’ doors to walk with her to other rooms, or to bring her coffee. He seems to truly want to know more about her, and seems interested in everything about her. She’s never had something like this, and is reluctant to bring up the bet in case she offends him. Two hours after she stormed out of Jaime’s room she had found Pod and asked him to take over Jaime duty. He’d been offering since she finished his operation, but she thought they were getting somewhere in their relationship. Pod was happy to take over Jaime duty.  


Now it’s the day of Hyle and her second date. She doesn’t have work until late afternoon so she decides to do her hair and makeup again. She puts on a light green sundress and does the wavy hairdo again with brown eyeshadow, mascara, and light pink lipstick. She Skypes Margery, who lives in Highgarden, and they chat while she gets ready. When there’s a knock at her apartment door Margery squeals. “Please keep me online so I can see what he looks like.” Brienne sighs, but puts the computer on the coffee table where Margery can see Hyle, but it’d be difficult for him to see her.  


She answers the door to Tyrion Lannister. She freezes and he looks her up and down in surprise. “Doctor Brienne, are you going on a date?”  


Brienne feels ridiculous for feeling guilty being confronted by Jaime’s little brother. “Yes. Jaime didn’t want a relationship so when Doctor Hyle asked me to go out I said yes.”  


Tyrion sighs and looks sad. “Yes Jaime told me your agreement. I gave him such a lashing once I met you and you invited all those people to visit him. I told him he’d never find someone who cared for him the way you do, and I think he’s come to agree.”  


Brienne hears a gasp from behind her and Tyrion pushes past her and looks around to find the noise. Brienne clears her throat. “Margery this is my soulmate’s brother Tyrion. Tyrion this is my best friend Margery.” She points to the computer and Tyrion waves.  


Margery glares at Brienne. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you found your soulmate! We’ve been best friends for how long?”  


Brienne decides to have that conversation later. “We’ll talk later. Bye Margery.” She frowns but blows her a kiss and logs off. She turns back to Tyrion. “Back to our conversation, did Jaime tell you his feelings are changing?”  


Tyrion groans and flops onto her couch. “No. He’s in denial that he’s starting to want a monogamous relationship. I’m his brother and his best friend, I know how to read him.”  


Brienne rolls her eyes and sits next to the man. “I understand that may be what you think. I know almost everyone has fairytale stories about their soulmate, and I’m sure you want the same for your brother. I’m sorry that this is not the case, but it is not my job to convince him to like me.”  


Tyrion shakes his head. “That’s not it. Whenever I talk to him or visit all he talks about is you. He’s never told me about a girl before and he doesn’t shut up. ‘Doctor 

Brienne said the funniest thing’, ‘Doctor Brienne helped me do this thing today’, etc. etc.” He’s falling for you Brienne, you just gotta give him a little more time. I know it’s not fair for me to ask that, but he’ll be ready for a relationship really soon.”  


Brienne gives herself a moment to picture this. On one hand she can see it. Him getting out of the hospital, realizing how much he misses her, and telling her he needs her in his life and then pulling her into a kiss. On the other hand she could see her waiting forever for him to decide to be with her, just for it to never happen, and she ends up alone. “I’m sorry Tyrion, but I can’t put my life on hold for him. He even tried to sabotage this date. Even if he subconsciously wants a relationship, he shouldn’t be this conniving.”  


Tyrion nods. “He told me about that too. I honestly think he believes something is going on. He hates that you aren’t talking to him. He won’t shut up about him missing you, your humor, your sarcasm, I could go on forever. Please just ask this Hyle about the maybe made up bet.”  


There’s a knock on the door. Brienne stands and turns to the man. “I promise to ask about it. Don’t be surprised if nothing comes of it.”  


Tyrion agrees, and Brienne opens the door. Hyle stands on the other side with a bouquet of roses in his hand. He smiles and hands them over, but pauses when he sees Tyrion. Brienne clears her throat. “Hyle this is Tyrion Lannister. Tyrion this is Doctor Hyle Hunt.” Tyrion holds his hand out to shake, and Hyle reciprocates.  


Brienne racks her brain for an excuse as to why Tyrion is in her apartment, but he saves her. “Doctor Brienne was kind enough to let me in. I’m worried about my brother Jaime’s recovery and just showed up unannounced to discuss his treatment. Rude of me I know, but Doctor Brienne was considerate and listened to my worries and then reassured me. Forgive me for stalling this date, I’ll be leaving.” Tyrion turns to Brienne and shakes her hand. “Thank you for the discussion. Remember what we discussed.” Brienne nods and he leaves.  


Hyle looks to Brienne who grabs the flowers. “What did you discuss?”  


Brienne is only half listening as she puts the flowers in a vase with water. “Um, nothing, just something Jaime has been worried about. Nothing we need to talk about on our date.” Hyle smiles brightly and holds his arm out for Brienne to take.  


She locks the door and they leave the complex. “So I was thinking we could go to Hot Pie’s. It’s a nice diner that has good breakfast and lunch meals.”  


Brienne smiles at him. “That sounds great. I’ve heard good things and have been meaning to visit.”  


Hyle grins back. “Great. I have my car so I thought we could just drive there.” Brienne agrees but pauses when she sees his car. It’s some type of muscle car and Brienne can’t help but picture Jaime’s scathing comment. Wow Wench, that’s a compensation car if I’ve ever seen one. She feels a grin on her face and Hyle looks at her questioningly, but she waves it away. She gets in and he revs the engine before driving to the diner.  


One they’ve ordered and gotten coffee they fall into a comfortable conversation. It starts with them talking about Hyle’s family and how he had a great childhood, and then morphed into Brienne’s sad tale of losing her brothers and being the last living child of the last living male Tarth. Her father never seemed to mind he didn’t have boys, but he treated her like one so she grew up being more boyish and getting teased. Hyle simply shrugs. “Boys can be dicks. It probably didn’t help that you’re as big as them but you can’t help that.” Brienne stares at him for a beat, shocked he’d say something that if she wasn’t so used to it, she’d be offended, but he doesn’t seem to realize how hurtful it was so she lets it slide.  


Their food comes, a breakfast burrito for Hyle, and a caesar salad with chicken for Brienne. They eat in silence, and Hyle picks up the check again. He drives her home, and Brienne sees that she still has two hours before her shift. When he parks Hyle turns to her. “Can I come up for a little while?”  


Brienne’s thoughts flash to the bet but she nods and leads him upstairs. When she lets him into her apartment she’s shocked when she’s shoved against the door and Hyle’s lips are on hers. She freezes as his lips move on hers, but she’s snapped out of her shock when his tongue runs over her lips. She pushes him back and he looks at her in confusion. Brienne stares at him, shocked that her first kiss had been that. “What are you doing?”  


He looks into her eyes. “I thought this was where this was going. Isn’t that what going on dates means?”  


Brienne goes red and gets flustered. “I mean… I guess, I just wasn’t, um, thinking it’d happen like that.” Hyle shrugs and goes in for another kiss but Brienne turns her head so his lips hit her cheek. He sighs in agitation, and Brienne knows she has to talk about the bet. “Listen, I was informed about a rumored bet.” He freezes with his hand inching up her shirt, and Brienne wonders if Jaime was telling the truth. “I was told you had a bet with Redd that you could get in my pants by the end of the month. Please tell me it’s not true.”  


He stares at her for a moment, and then runs his hand through his hair. “It’s true.”  


Brienne stares at him, hurt. “What the hell? Why the fuck would you do that?”  


He shrugs and leans back. “It’s not that big of a deal. So what if we sleep together? It’ll be one time and then we can forget about it. Come on.” Hyle leans in to kiss her, but she pushes him further away. He moves back to the counter. “What the fuck Brienne? I mean, it’s not like you get offers like this a lot. I mean, I bought you flowers for fuck’s sake.” He motions to the flowers.  


Brienne lets out a humorless laugh. “Get the fuck out of my apartment Hyle.”  


He freezes. “Come on Brienne, let’s just do this.”  


Brienne reaches out and slaps him. “I said get out.”  


He rubs his cheek and glares at her. “You’re a crazy bitch you know that?” He turns and rushes out of her apartment. She leans against the counter and begins to cry.  


An hour later she’s in the hospital opening Jaime’s door. He’s reading The Lion’s Den and taking notes. He looks up when she comes in, and his budding smile turns into a frown when he sees her red rimmed eyes. His gaze turns deadly. “I’m going to kill the fucker. Did he succeed in the fucking bet?”  


Brienne shakes her head and slumps into the chair next to his bed. She tries to keep it together, but her shaking hands morph into her entire frame vibrating, and she begins to cry. Jaime groans and pulls her into a hug. Hiccuping, she haltingly explains what happened. “We got back from the date and he just jumped me. Told me I should have sex with him because he got me stupid flowers.”  


Jaime’s grip tightens and he snarls. “I’m going to actually kill him. You didn’t deserve that.”  


Brienne slightly pulls out of his hold so she can see his face. He reaches out and wipes the tears from her eyes, one side at a time. “You also didn’t deserve how I treated you. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”  


Jaime shakes his head. “No, Wench, I understood where you were coming from. Why would you believe me? All I’ve done is hurt you. I’m so sorry about all of this.” Brienne shrugs and pulls herself together.  


She stands up and straightens out her shirt. “Whatever, all that happened was that I lost my first kiss. Thank the gods it didn’t go further.” Jaime throws his pillow across the room.  


Brienne stops talking and stares at him in shock. “He took your first fucking kiss? Gods I’m going to torture him and then kill him. Maybe I’ll get Tormund to help. He likes you right?”  


Brienne groans. “Tormund is a friend of Jon’s. That’s the only way I know him. Don’t beat him up. He doesn’t deserve your emotions. I’m just going to ignore him and pretend like nothing happened.” She walks over to the bathroom to clean her face, but leaves the door open so they can still talk. “The best thing for me to do is to act like he didn’t affect me.” She splashes the cold water on her face to lessen the redness. She leaves the bathroom. “Okay, I’ve got to get ready. I’ll see you later.” Jaime looks like he’s about to respond so she scurries out the door.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  


Jaime is going to kill the fucker. He stomps out of his room and his happy that the person at the front desk isn’t manned by Pia. “Hi, where is Doctor Tarly’s office.”  


The girl smiles at him. “Top floor to the left. Can’t miss it.” He thanks her and goes into the elevator. The girl was right and in two minutes he’s in the man’s office.  


Randyll Tarly is an older gentleman who is still intimidating enough to tower over anyone in the room. “So, Mr. Lannister, what can I do for you?”  


Jaime sits in the chair across his desk. “I want Hyle Hunt, Redd, and Pia to be fired.”  


Randyll’s eyebrows shoot up. “Why should I do that?”  


Jaime leans forward in his chair. “Because they had a bet going on if Hyle could have sex with Doctor Brienne within the month.”  


Randyll looks taken aback and angry. “Those fuckers. I wish I could, but that would be firing a doctor and two nurses, I don’t have the resources to find replacements that quickly.”  


Jaime leans back in his chair and crosses his arms. “I was thinking of donating a large sum of money to the hospital that helped my healing so well. This could be one of the resources the money goes to.”  


Randyll smiles like a cat that got the canary. Then he reaches over to shake Jaime’s hand. “You’ve got yourself a deal Mr. Lannister.” Jaime smirks, and hopes Brienne forgives him for this.


	5. The Fallout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The confrontation with Hyle, Redd, and Pia leaves Brienne and Jaime feeling more than maybe they should for their soulmate. An unexpected visit from someone close to Jaime brings good news.

After the meeting with Doctor Tarly Jaime makes his way back to his room. He begins reading a book Meera brought him about living with amputations, but is interrupted by Pia. She knocks and enters. “Doctor Tarly is having a bunch of us meet in the waiting room. He asked me to get you.” Jaime puts the book down and hides his smirk as they make their way to the room. When they enter he sees Brienne and Pod standing in the corner with Hyle and Redd, who are joined by Pia in the middle. 

Jaime makes his way to stand by Brienne. He stands just close enough for their arms to brush so she can take comfort (he hopes) in his presence.  


Doctor Tarly clears his throat. “Hyle, Redd, and Pia, it has come to my attention of your bet about Doctor Brienne Tarth.” Pia pales while Hyle and Redd shoot glares Brienne’s way. Brienne turns bright red. “We do not excuse that behavior here. You should be happy Brienne is not pressing sexual harassment chargers. I am firing you, take your stuff and vacate the premises immediately.” Pia huffs and walks out of the room.  


Hyle turns to Brienne. “You snitched on us? Gods you’re such a bitch.”  


Jaime steps forward to block her from their sights. “Actually I told on you. Doctor Brienne is a friend of mine and I don’t appreciate my friends being treated that way.” Brienne turns her gaze on him and it morphs from confusion to embarrassment.  


Redd steps threateningly towards Jaime. “And who the fuck do you think you are? Why do you have the right to talk about us?”  


Jaime straightens to his full height, inches above Redd, and gets in his face. “I’m Jaime Lannister, the fucking owner and Editor-in-Chief of The Lion’s Den. You should be glad I’m not having one of my writers cover this story to make sure you never get hired again.” Redd looks like he’s about to respond, but Hyle grabs his arm and tries to drag him out of the room. Jaime advances on Hyle. “You are a piece of such despicable scum I can’t even be bothered with killing you here and now because you aren’t worth it. Doctor Brienne is, but I doubt she’d want me throwing away my life over a piece of shit like you. I just want you to know I’m going to call every business in King’s Landing to make sure you are never hired in this city again. If you ever try to contact Doctor Brienne again I’ll kill you. Do I make myself clear?” Hyle frowns and tries to leave but Jaime grabs his arm and gets fully in his face. “I said, do I make myself clear?”  


Hyle grumbles and yanks his arm from his hold. “Crystal.” He turns and leaves, followed by Redd. Jaime stares after them in triumph until Brienne clears her throat behind him. He turns to give her a sheepish grin. “Could we move this conversation to my room? I’d like to lay back down.” Brienne sighs but nods and follows him to his room.  


As soon as the door shuts she’s berating him. “What were you thinking? I don’t need you to fight my battles for me.” Jaime groans and lays on the bed.  


He turns to look at the woman standing in his room. With the way the light hits her hair it actually looks like spun gold. Her blue eyes flash and he feels himself getting sucked into them. He sighs. “I know you can handle yourself Wench. I was just so fucking pissed they did that to you I couldn’t let it pass like I knew you were going to do.”  


Brienne’s shoulders drop but she’s still frowning. “I was going to handle the situation just fine. I don’t like revenge Jaime. It doesn’t help anyone.”  


Jaime shakes his head. “I beg to disagree. Getting fired will hopefully keep them from doing that to another poor woman who will actually go all the way with Hyle fucking Hunt and then be crushed when he tells her it was all for a bet.”  


Brienne thinks his reasoning over and shrugs. “I guess you’re right. How did you get Doctor Tarly to agree to fire them?”  


Jaime shrugs, but a pleased smile slips onto his face. “I told him I was thinking of making a sizeable donation to the hospital, but didn’t want the money to profit such horrible employees. Twenty minutes later he fired them.”  


Brienne gapes at him. “You offered to give the hospital money if he fired them?”  


Jaime shrugs again. “I was going to do so anyways, this place has been great for my health, the excuse was just a motivator for Tarly to fire the fuckers.”  


Brienne smiles and looks down. “Well, thank you. I’ve never had someone stick up for me like that.” Jaime’s hit with the longing to tell her how he’ll always be there to stick up for her. He’s her soulmate after all. He stops those thoughts. Well fuck, I think I’ve developed feelings for Brienne. He stares at the woman in shock and she gives him a confused glance. “What is it?”  


Jaime shakes himself out of his thoughts and clears his throat. “Uh nothing, I just never expected you to thank me for what I did. I thought you’d be a lot more pissed.”  


Brienne shrugs, but blushes. “I was at first, but I understand where you were coming from and I appreciate you looking out for me.” Jaime smiles in relief, reaches out to grab her hand, and pulls her into a hug.  


They sit there for a moment, just taking each other in. Jaime is hit with the sense of complete rightness, and he doesn’t want to leave. They are interrupted by a knock at the door and they quickly break apart before Pod opens the door. He sees the two of them sitting close, and looking a little flustered and he smirks. “Um, Mayor Cersei is wanting to come in.” Jaime freezes and looks to Brienne who smiles at him.  


He turns back to Pod. “Uh, send her in.”  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  


Brienne watches as Cersei sweeps into the room. She wears a red pencil skirt and white button up shirt. Her hair is half in a braided bun while the rest falls down her back. Brienne’s surprised when she sees genuine sadness pass over Cersei’s face when she takes Jaime in, but it passes as she leans over and kisses his cheek. “I apologize for not coming earlier. I was out of town and couldn’t get back until an hour ago. How are you?”  
Jaime makes eye contact with Brienne and rolls his eyes. She can tell he doesn’t believe Cersei, but decides not to say anything. “I’m fine. Doctor Brienne has been great.”  


Cersei lets him go and turns to Brienne. She smiles, once again Brienne is surprised to see it’s not unkind. “Thank you for taking care of my brother.” She turns back to Jaime. “I took the liberty to bring in the best prosthetics doctor in the country. Doctor Qyburn.” Cersei calls the man’s name and he enters from outside. Brienne is in shock. Doctor Qyburn is famous for his work in the prosthetics field. Jaime’s lucky his whole family is so wealthy. Qyburn is in such high demand he has a two year waiting list. Cersei must have pulled some real magic to get him on such short notice.  


The man enters and goes to look at Jaime’s stump. He turns it over and hums. He looks up to Brienne. “You did the operation?” Brienne nods. “Great work. The lines are clean even though the hand was completely mangled. You were able to find a great place to cut so that he didn’t lose almost anything above the wrist.” Brienne beams and he turns to Jaime. “I’m going to take your measurements and get you fitted with a new hand.” Jaime looks to Brienne and gives her a large smile, and she can’t help but smile back. Cersei quickly glances between the two and looks suspicious.  


Brienne clears her throat. “I have to go check on my other patients. Have a good fitting Jaime.”  


Jaime smiles softly at her. “Thank you Brienne.” She leaves feeling warm inside by the smile he gave her. She freezes in the hall. Oh shit I’m falling for him.

Three hours go by, with the meetings with Qyburn and Meera filling the time. Brienne checks on her patients, gets lunch with Pod, and thank Randyll before she’s told Jaime’s calling for her. She goes back to the room to see that Cersei left. He smiles when she comes in. “Wench, could you get me lunch? I’m famished.”  
Brienne rolls her eyes and grabs his left arm to yank him up. “How about I take you to the cafeteria and you can get your own lunch.”  


Jaime sighs but mumbles, “fine”. As they walk to the cafeteria, Brienne keeps sneaking glances at the man next to her. After finally getting into a regular bathing routine she is reminded with how attractive Jaime really is. She can’t believe the Maiden thought they would be a good pair. They are nothing alike, and yet Brienne finds they compliment each other well. Jaime gives her a sideways glance and she shakes herself out of her thoughts.  


She clears her throat. “So I think you’ll be able to leave tomorrow.”  


Jaime perks up. “Really?”  


She nods. “Yeah, you’ve healed as much as you can in the hospital. Now it’s time for you to go home. Meera’s planning on staying for a few extra days to get you set up with a local physical therapist and you can start your training with Arya.” Jaime is obviously happy as he steps up to order.  


They sit at a table by the window, Jaime with his burger, and Brienne with a small smoothie. They eat in silence for a bit before Jaime breaks it. “We’ll still hang out once I’m gone from the hospital right?”  


Brienne is surprised to see a sincere worry in his eyes and decides not to tease him about missing her. “If you want to get together after you leave, I'd be happy to.” His shoulders sag as if they had been under a weight and he smiles again.  


Before Brienne can react he swipes her smoothie and takes a gulp. She objects but he just smirks at her over the straw, his eyes twinkling. He puts her smoothie back down in front of her. She glares at him, and he chuckles. “Ah come on Wench, you don’t have to worry, I don’t have cooties.” Brienne scoffs, but his teasing works and she giggles. That makes her pause. Did I really just giggle?  


By Jaime’s joyous expression she can tell she really had giggled. “Why Wench, wasn’t that a delightful sound. I had no idea you had a giggling bone in your body.”  


Brienne tries to stop herself, but she has never been able to keep from making medical jokes. “Well I’d say I have two humorous ones.” Jaime pauses to comprehend the joke, his face morphs in horror and then he throws his head back to let out a guffawing laugh. Brienne turns red when she sees others looking over at them, but she quickly forgets when she sees the way his golden hair falls from his face when his head leans back like that. It looks like a golden waterfall that Brienne wants to run her hands through.  


Jaime finally stops laughing and wipes a tear from his eye. “That was one of the worst jokes I’ve ever heard. Who knew you were funny?” Brienne shrugs, but smiles, pleased she made him laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was a filler chapter before Jaime is released from the hospital. In good news I've decided to have two more chapters and then the story will be done!


End file.
